We’ve long been wary of digital services on consoles at Famicom Dojo, because every time one shuts down there’s the inevitable pain that follows, and features that can never be recaptured. This is what is happening with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection going dark this week, which takes with it all online multiplayer (and related features) for not only Wii and DS titles, but anything that relied on GameSpy for online connectivity. Similarly, Microsoft has continued its Xbox One backpedaling and has decided that the Kinect 2.0 isn’t required hardware after all. Sean and Vinnk wonder if this change to the Xbox One will make them more likely to get it over the PS4, and decide how best to go out on Nintendo’s original online service. Also, we discuss the Amplitude Kickstarter by Harmonix (which, by now, should be fully funded). We review a brand new game in Future Retro, and Pile of Shame isn’t about video games at all!

Physical game releases, and increasingly their digital versions as well, often get a hefty price cut as the game ages, but the price of the DLC never goes down. Should it? Vinnk and Sean backtrack on some earlier positions to talk about DLC they like, grapple with their feelings on DLC in general, and what alternatives publishers can pursue without giving up a revenue stream that helps to increase the software development tail of a game and its engine.

New games come out every year, and we tend to play them now and again. But there are also those games that you come back to year after year, when something new and fancy just won’t cut it, and you just need a little bit of that video game soul food.

Sean and Vinnk bring up their favorite games which have that exciting spark even years after first playing them. Sometimes those games aren’t even all that good, just supremely… comforting. Which games are your “soul food”?

Video games aren’t just about blowing up bad guys, pretending to be a secret agent, or saving galactic civilization from moon-sized cuttlefish. Sometimes they’re about everyday, ordinary things, like stock brokering! Or newspaper delivery! Or making dinner! Vinnk and Sean discuss these more “mundane” titles, and how surprisingly fun they can actually be. Haven’t you ever wanted to be a lawyer? Or start your own football league? With the power of video games, this could be you!

When Nintendo reported two straight quarterly losses in early 2011, followed by a less-than-stellar initial release of its new 3DS handheld console, it didn’t take long for the naysayers to begin spelling the company’s doom.

This is a familiar dance. It started in the ’90s, when Nintendo’s veneer of dominance started cracking in the face of competition with the Sega Genesis. Or maybe it was the decision to abandon the CD format for the Nintendo 64 when Sega and Sony made the leap. Or perhaps it was because, even with the GameCube, no Nintendo console had sold better than its predecessor — that is, until the release of the Wii.

However, despite calls that Nintendo abandon its hardware ambitions — even with the new wrinkle of the ever-rising iOS platform — there are plenty of reasons why Nintendo would never, could never, and should never stop making TV or handheld consoles.

Should Nintendo be scared? Since the launch of the iPhone — which encouraged the rise of the Android platform — smartphone gaming is set to become a majority of the handheld market, eclipsing Nintendo for the first time since the release of the Game Boy in 1989. Sean and Vinnk explain their misgivings with GameStop, why they’re sure Nintendo expects Xenoblade to fail (or at least doesn’t care if it succeeds), and actual precedents that should exonerate Nintendo for being so cautious.

Is the Wii U touch controller a naked attempt to try and compete with the iPad, and if so does it stand a chance to succeed? Sean and Vinnk go through a brief history of touch panels in consumer devices, from the Apple Newton to the Tiger Game.com, the Nintendo DS, and — of course — Apple”s iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Here’s your first look at footage from the new Italian Nintendo DS game Sailor Moon La Luna Splende. Expect a full video review down the line but I just wanted to share this footage so fans can get an idea of what to expect from the game.